Olympic notebook: NBC criticized for not streaming opening ceremony

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NBC is taking heat for not streaming the Olympics opening ceremony online, instead holding it for the network’s telecast Friday.

Several complaints were posted on Twitter about NBC’s decision. One popular sports website, Deadspin, posted a link to the BBC’s stream of the ceremony on Friday, urging fans to watch it to send a message to NBC.

NBC spokesman Christopher McCloskey said it was never the intention to stream the ceremony. He said it was a complex entertainment spectacle that does not translate well online because it requires context. Four years ago NBC similarly didn’t stream the Beijing ceremony. It drew a heavy buzz and was watched by nearly 35 million people that night.

Archery: Legally blind archer Im Dong-hyun set the first world records of the London Olympics, breaking his own record in the 72-arrow mark and helping South Korea set a team record in the ranking round.

Im broke the record he had set in Turkey in May by three points with a score of 699, hours before the 2012 Games official opening ceremony.

“This is just the first round, so I will not get too excited by it,” said Im, who has 10 percent vision in his left eye and 20 percent in his right.

He combined with Kim Bub-min and Oh Jin-hyek, smashing the record for 216 arrows with a total 2,087. That was 18 better than the mark South Korea set in May.

Im, 26, has said when he looks at the targets, he sees colors with blurred lines between them. He does not wear glasses in competition, saying he relies on distinguishing between the bright colors of the target.

Archery fans were angered when they were turned away for preliminary rounds at Lord’s Cricket Ground. The ranking rounds were not advertised as open to the public, Olympic officials said. The officials added that they had sent warnings about buying tickets from unofficial websites.

Gymnastics: National champion John Orozco and Olympic trials winner Danell Leyva will compete in all six events when men’s team qualifications begin Saturday. The U.S. lineup, announced Friday, means two-time Olympic medal winner and team captain Jonathan Horton will not be eligible for the all-around competition at the O2 Arena.

Tennis: Andy Murray and the other members of the British Olympic squad were told by a team official to skip Friday’s opening ceremony so they can get plenty of rest before the tournament begins Saturday.

Obituary: Olympic boxing official Garip Erkuyumcu was found dead in his London hotel room, the International Boxing Association said. He was 73. A heart attack was suspected, but autopsy results were expected to determine the exact cause of death, the Turkish Boxing Federation said.

Etc.: The Sudanese Embassy denied that one of its Olympic runners had applied for asylum in the United Kingdom, contradicting earlier reports. A British government official confirmed the asylum request to The Associated Press earlier Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press. Other British media outlets cited police.

The male Olympian allegedly appeared Tuesday night at a police station in the northern English city of Leeds, the training camp base for several countries’ Olympic teams, including Sudan.

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